Cursed
by fuzzi fox
Summary: A play on the fan-theory that Hans was cursed by the Trolls to cause him to do the evils he committed so that Anna's engagement to him would be nullified and she would be free to marry Kristoff. His thoughts about his actions against Anna, Elsa, and all of Arendelle. One-Shot


Just a quick one-shot. I just watched Frozen and I remembered reading about a fan-theory that Hans was not evil the whole time, that his intentions were pure but once the magic trolls learned of Anna's engagement they decided to fix it and curse Hans so Anna would be free to marry Kristoff. Now there are many holes in this theory, but I thought it would be fun to do a one-shot of what goes through Hans head as he reflects back upon the night and the things he did, working on the assumtion the fan theory is true. This is being written in a caffeine fueled single rant at like 2am, so I hope it lives up to the expectations of my readers.

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><p>The stone was cold against my back as I slouched against the wall of my cell, a sharp contrast to the soft warmth of the feather bed I sat upon. I grabbed the blanket strewn across the foot of the mattress and tugged it around my shoulders. The last trickle of light flickered away as the tallow candle wore through the last of its wick. I had attempted to pass the time with the books left for me on the center table, but they were unable to distract me from my own horrid thoughts. I could hear the commotion outside through the small window that allowed far more noise than it allowed precious light on this final night.<p>

The guards were preparing the gallows for the morn, my fate having been decided after an arduous court battle. My brothers had fought for mercy, begging and pleading for a gentler sentence. But I felt lucky to be delivered a quicker death than the law called for. My kingdom had long held a tentative peace with Arendelle, and an attempted assassination of their queen constituted treason against my own nation.

I could not recall the motivation behind my own actions. Thirteenth in line I had abandoned ambitions for power long ago, too far down the line to even hold an honorary title or be of any value in an arranged marriage. I was content with my station, if not excited by the freedom allowed by my insignificance. Unlike my older brothers, I was free to choose an appropriate partner. There were no nations vying to tie me to their daughters. I could enjoy my lavish life of royalty without the chains of expectation. When it was announced the orphaned daughter of King Agdar had come of age our country was obligated to send a member of the royal family to celebrate the occasion to show our respects. Preoccupied with wars, trade disputes, marriages, my family had little concern for our allied nation and the task was bestowed upon myself.

I was excited for the trip, for I had traveled little. A ship was prepared, in a display of respect my parents having outfit me with my own ship. _Le Ouragon_ "The Hurricane" a destructive force, but a symbol of power. They had arranged for a great gathering to christen my ship, and bid me a safe trip hoping the ironically named ship would protect me from storms. Several of my men were went with me, and it was one of the grandest days of my life. For once, the attention was on me and not my brothers.

I arrived in Arendelle and it was everything I could have dreamed of. The country was beautiful. Towering cliffs flanking water so clear I could the sand and rocks below. Architecture so foreign it held a beauty of its own, oddly matching the strange clothes of the people milling about. The smell of salty sea mixed with the smells of clay, dirt, stone, and people. Baking breads and roasted meats, stalls selling scorched vegetation and sweetened fruits. Vendors crying out various foods, treats, scarfs, gloves, dresses, jewelry and trinkets to commemorate this day. A muddle of skins, languages, and clothes bustled around me. The excitement in the air over the coronation was contagious and I found myself as excited for the event as if it was my own flesh and blood being celebrated.

I lavished in the world around me, wanting to take in everything. I wanted to enjoy the music, talk to people in these beautiful flowing languages I could not understand. Eat the exotic foods whose smells were intoxicating. Then I bumped into her. Distracted by this new world around me I didn't see the girl crossing my path until I felt the jolt on my horse and heard her startled cry.

I had never believed in love at first sight, I had always found it a petty excuse to justify infatuation, or a lie my brothers would tell themselves to soothe the ache of being forced to marry a girl they had only just met. But I looked into that excited and startled face and wanted to know everything about this girl who was as enthralled as I in this celebration. She looked so alive, so excited, so damn _happy._ Then I learned who she was, she was the _princess. _Anna. The younger daughter of King Agdar. I had never seen a royal look so excited by life. My brothers, my parents, various aunts uncles and cousins, they all shared a detestable settled stagnation. The unchanging routine of duty, the stoic nature expected at all times to display the pride, dignity, and power of the family. The false ficade you were forced to carry in your repetition. It had ground out most of the joy from everyone I knew. Yet this girl who lived in the same stale world I did was as excited as if the world was new to her. She quickly parted, and I hoped to see her at the party.

I was in luck, and she showed me around her palace. She seemed simply enthralled to show me her world. I admired the strange design of the castle, the new and varying art that adorned the walls, stories of war, heroes, martyrs, and mundane people that inspired the various paintings, sculptures, tapestries that wove the history of Arendelle on the walls. She showed me the painting of her parents, of herself, of her sister the Queen. She smiled while excitedly sharing with me her closed and isolated world. She had explained the gates weren't open often, yet she showed now signs of being broken down from this isolation. She still shared a passion for life that I envied. Her exuberence was contagious, and I wanted to always spend my life with someone who could make life seem exciting again.. Who could make that emotion I felt wandering around her kingdom for the first time last for eternity. So I asked her to marry me. And her answer only made this new found joy magnify.

Then things collapsed, quickly. I hardly remember the chain of events, but the mystery behind Arendelle's closing of the gates was revealed suddenly and violently. I felt responsible for it, for it was her reaction to my proposal that set of the chain of ice. The Queen fled, and Anna chased after her leaving me in her stead. I wanted to find her but Anna tasked me with leading her country through this crisis in her stead. I watched her flee, and vowed to make her proud. To prove I was a leader worthy of her hand. To prove that being so far in line to my own kingdom did not make me a poor leader. I looked around at the frightened and expecting faces and made them my priority. Protecting the money and goods of a kingdom had no merit if you horded it to harm your people. I commanded the kitchens to make hot broths and grog to warm the populace while guards and merchants divied out cloaks, blankets, scarves, gloves, and other linens to the people. I ordered the gates to remain open so those who could not heat their homes from the unexpected storm could seek shelter.

I remained outside, refusing to take warmth unless all the citezens of Arendelle were warm. I could be no leader if I hid in warmth while the people suffered in the cold. My horse returned without a rider, and I felt my heart begin to throb the sound pulsing in my ears. I commanded a small group of men to accompany me to seek out the Queen and Princess. But my actions after that, I cannot understand. I don't know what happened, or when it happened, but when I reached the ice palace fear and rage overcame my devotion and determination.

I was thirteenth in line, ever to rule. Even if I married Anna I would never rule. I had proven to Arendelle that I was a grand leader, worthy of power. I could bring Arendelle into an era of prosperity that its people had never known. Be the benevolent ruler it cried out for. Elsa was in the way of my dreams, of Arendelle's deserved wealth. Elsa was a weak Queen. A secluded ruler who was hiding dangerous power. She would hold her position with fear and evil magics. Arendelle deserved better. It deserved _me. _

I felled the great beast guarding the ice palace, and saw a figure flee through the frozen doors followed quickly by men who had been sent by the Duke of Weselton. I gave chase, and when I reached the amphitheater I saw Elsa crouched in fear, her arms extended ready to murder these men. I pleaded for her to stop, understanding now what she was. A frightened little girl. She would never be a powerful and strong leader. The kingdom would crumble under her rule.

I saw the man pinned to the wall lift his crossbow, ready to piece the Queen with a bold. The coward. Elsa was no leader, but she did not deserve to be murdered by a crossbow bolt. But I could also not allow her to flee. I glanced up, seeing an ice chandelier and reacted quickly. I leapt, pointing the bolt at the hanging device and watched it come crashing down as Elsa attempted to flee. She slipped as the great mass came crashing down and she went limp onto the ground. As standing leader of Arendelle I commanded the two men to return at once, and I carried Elsa back to her kingdom where I had her shackled in a cell to protect the people from this murderous power. I bit my lip thinking of Anna, realizing I could never love someone who came from such a weak bloodline. Her parents had closed the gates in fear of their own daughter. A child. They died at sea, and their cowardly offspring was all Arendelle had left. Anna was the product of cowards and was a coward herself. I cared not where she was, and hoped that she would not return. I would concern myself with clasping the seat of power at another time. I finally had respect, authority, power. People were obeying my orders. Arendelle hailed me as a hero as I brought their monstrous Elsa back to the palace.

I was conferring with members of Parliament when news of Anna's return reached me. I felt a brief spark of the love I once held for her, for the girl with an excitement for life that gave me hope that the stagnancy of being a royal with no place as heir could still hold great joy. She was no coward, she had charged into a storm when others shrank back. She searched for her sister when the guards charged with protecting their own Queen refused to assist the Princess in her quest. But the thirst for power rose again, and remembering the cowardly queen. I felt nauseated and tried to collect myself. I feigned concern for her, and when I saw her a confusing rage brough bile to the back of my throat. I brought her to a sitting room, and ordered we be left alone. She wanted to kiss me, and a spark of that affection lifted again. I wanted to hold onto it, I wanted to let it grow and suppress this perplexing rage and thirst that was consuming me. But I failed. I broke her, destroyed her, using my words to make sure her final agonizing minutes were wrought with as much pain as I could inflict.

When I left, I hated myself. I hated this rage, this thirst. I no longer felt in control of my own choices, and the night began to blur. I fought, struggling to suppress these urges. I knew who I was, I was the man who adored that perpetually happy Princess, who tended to the freezing peasants and charged after my love to return her to safety. I was a man who had never desired the power I knew was forever out of my grasp. But even these images of myself waxed and waned throughout the eve. I sentenced Elsa to death, but granted her a merciful death by beheading rather than hanging, drawing, and quartering as the law commanded be decreed to a traitor.

I ventured into the storm, I no longer remember why. I don't remember the blistering cold or blinding snow. I remember crying out a name, and finding Elsa. I think I taunted her about Anna's death, wanting to destroy her the way I destroyed Anna. But then Anna appeared. My sword shattered and the world went black.

I awoke and felt like I was floating. No... _I'm being carried._ I tried to bring the world into focus, but my head was throbbing. Everything smelled like the stale bitter smell of blood, the same salty taste filling my mouth. My ears were ringing, drowning the sounds of whatever was around me. I impacted the ground again, and tried to focus my blurred vision. Someone mentioned my brothers, but I couldn't hear more than that before the world grew dark again.

Again I awoke but the world felt clearer. I wiped my hand across my nose and it was streaked with specks of dried clotted blood. I snorted hard and spat, a glob of thick red goo splattering the wooden floor. I felt nauseated, but the ringing in my ears had dulled and I could make out the sounds of water. I squinted, and realized I was in a small room with wooden crates and a barred wall. I was in the brig of the ship. The crates bore the emblem of my nation, and I realized I was back aboard _Le Ouragon_. The swaying made the sloshing sensation in my head worse and I clutched my ears trying to steady myself. I sat back hard, pushing myself hard in a corner trying to brace against the motion.

The fragmented events began to clear, and I could more clearly remember what I had done. The Queen had wandered onto the ice, most likely to flee my tyrannous actions. The storm of her fear raged around me, the sharp wind flushing my cheeks as I approached her. She inquired about Anna, and I told her she was dead because of her actions. _A frozen heart._ Where had I even learned such a term? I knew of The Queen's powers because of her actions at the coronation, but I did not know there was such a curse. She fell to her knees, the raging storm halting abruptly. My vision now cleared from the whited out storm, I drew my sword and approached the hapless woman. I readied my blade, to deliver the sentence I had bestowed upon her earlier. I was ready to brutally execute the mourning woman who lay weeping on the ice. _Why was I willing to do that?_

But Anna stopped me. That exuberant woman charged before my blade, defying my early judgment of her as a coward. She was willing to die to protect the sister she hardly knew. The ghost who had hidden away for ten years. My arm arleady in full swing, was unable to stop my actions. But before my blade could render her arm from her shoulder she froze and my blade shatter and the world came to a halt.

I tried to come to terms with my actions, but there was no defending what I had done. I stood in my cell, wandering over to the window trying to peer into the darkness at my salvation. There was little moonlight to define the courtyard. I prayed for the night to pass quickly, to bring me to my deliverance. I could not forgive myself for trying to wreak so much destruction on the young woman I had fallen so dearly in love with. For nearly destroying our peaceful allied nation. For trying to murder their queen, usurp their throne, for trying to vie for a power I had never before lusted for.

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><p>SO I never know how to end these things. I hope this one shot was satisfactory... again this is going on the fan-theory that Hans was not evil, but cursed by the trolls to drive him and Anna apart.<p> 


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